Saturday, November 29, 2008

Speaking at the LGBT History Month Pre-Launch, earlier this month, Parliamentary under Secretary for Education Baroness Morgan announced three new commitments for schools.

First, she said the Government was committed to monitoring and recording incidents of homophobic bullying: “Schools are required under the regulations to treat homophobic bullying with the same seriousness as other forms of bullying.”

Second, she committed the Department to training on LGBT issues: “We will support teachers through their training, so that they feel confident in using the guidance and in dealing with these issues.”

Third, she committed the Department to producing anti-transphobia guidance: “The Department has also recently announced that we will be developing guidance on bullying related to gender or gender identity over the coming months. I hope to be able to consult some of the stakeholders represented here on this guidance.”

Schools OUT’s Tony Fenwick said, “These are groundbreaking changes and we hope to see them put into effect in the next Parliament. I will be listening very carefully to the Queen’s Speech next week, together with a lot of LGBT activists in education.

“Schools OUT has urged the DCSF and the DfES before it to have homophobic and transphobic bullying and harassment recorded, reported and monitored in the same way as racist incidents for some ten years now. We have also consistently argued for more and better teacher training on LGBT issues.

“The DCSF guidance on homophobic bullying excludes our trans children and their parents. I am delighted to hear the Baroness announce that they are working to redress the balance and that they will work with experts in the field.”

Friday, November 28, 2008

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Please also note that Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour contains a lot of relevant content and is generally LGBT friendly, but a lot of its output is not available to us before we put this on the site. For the latest Woman’s Hour stuff, subscribe to the programme's newsletter here.

Wednesday 3rdBBC Radio 4 - 11.30am: The Art of Conversation. Recently uncovered work by Dylan ThomasBBC Radio 4 - 10.45pm: Book at Bedtime: Black Orchids6 Music - 12midnight: 6 Music Plays it again. Neil Tennant’s Top Ten

Thursday 4thBBC Radio 3 - 7pm: Performance of the Week. TchaikovskyBBC Radio 4 - 10.45pm: Book at Bedtime: Black Orchids6 Music - 12midnight: 6 Music Plays it again. Neil Tennant’s Top Ten

Thursday, November 27, 2008

This year saw the tenth anniversary of the tragic suicide of Britain’s only out gay footballer Justin Fashanu. The Justin Campaign is using this occasion to push forward the campaign against homophobia in football. It is easy to forget that Justin was the first £1m player and that he was thrown off the team by Brian Clough when he came out.

The Justin Campaign wants to make May 2nd Justin Fashanu Day so that we can all commemorate his life and remember the impact homophobia can have.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

LGBT history and heritage ideas are going from strength to strength. But what are the challenges around collecting, conserving and communicating the history of LBGT people and who and what is that history for? The London Metropolitan Archives are organising their sixth annual LGBT History and Archives Conference, which will include talks, Q&A sessions and workshops.

The programme includes speakers currently working on a variety of LGBT heritage projects including:

Over the last three years Proud Heritage has been on an unprecedented journey, working with leading figures at UCL and Leicester University to analyse the challenges facing LGBT memory and cultural ancestry in the heritage sector – and developing some innovative ways forward.

Nottinghamshire's Rainbow HeritageDavid Edgley

Celebrating Nottinghamshire’s LGBT lives, hidden history and culture, the website gives many opportunities for interaction.

Imperial War Museum North: Military Pride Catherine Roberts and James McSharry

Military Pride maps personal experiences across forty years of changing laws and evolving social attitudes toward homosexuality. It presents a unique snapshot of military life for gay men and women.

Shropshire Archives: Some People Are Gay, Get Over It!Maureen Turner and Kerry Dickins

A resource for Key Stage 3 and 4 teachers and students funded by the MLA West Midlands’ ‘Learning Links’ initiative.

Brighton Ourstory: Sodomy and Suffrage Linda Pointing and Tom Sargant

Brighton Ourstory are working on a major new exhibition for Brighton Pride 2009. Linda and Tom will relate some of the joys and perils of researching local LGBT history.

A Most Extraordinary AffairRose McMahon

Interpreting the Legendary Ladies of Llangollen at the Plas Newydd House and Museum

The day will also feature a selection of afternoon workshops to choose from - RUKUS! presenting an informal discussion on the development of the rukus! Black LGBT Archive and its new project Sharing Tongues, - LGBT HISTORY MONTH - Building on the past and looking to the future - getting involved in LGBT History with Sue Sanders, - BUILDING A SPACE with Jane Standing of Kairos in Soho, - CABINETS OF CURIOSITY – Developing and exploring museums and their LGBT collections with Jack Gilbert, Rose McMahon, Catherine Roberts and James McSharry- OPENING DOORS: INCLUSIVITY AND ARCHIVES l- Developing LGBT collections in archives, opening up access and encouraging new users with Sue Donnelly, Parveen Betab and Anna Kisby

The Royal Court is also planning a Wig Out-themed New Year Eve Party. Tickets include entrance to the play, post-show buffet and party with DJ, cabaret and special guests. Show starts at 8.30pm, party till 3.30am.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Please also note that Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour contains a lot of relevant content and is generally LGBT friendly, but a lot of its output is not available to us before we put this on the site. For the latest Woman’s Hour stuff, subscribe to the programme's newsletter here.

Thursday 27thBBC Radio 2 - 8pm: Live in London. Featuring The FeelingBBC Radio 3 - 2.55pm: Tchaikovsky’s Manfred SymphonyBBC Radio 3 - 11.30: A Fine Defence of Enid Blyton. Anne Fine does a reassessment of the much maligned author with readings by Miriam Margolyes

Friday 28thBBC Radio 1 - 6-1: Floor Fillers; Pete Tong; Annie Mac; Judge JulesBBC Radio 2 - 7pm: The Judy Garland trailBBC Radio 4 - 10am: Woman's Hour with Tilda SwintonBBC Radio 4 - 3pm: Ramblings. With Clare BaldingBBC Radio 4 - 9pm: The Last Time I Saw Richard. Dramatisation of the life of Richard de Zoysa; a Sri Lankan journalist, writer, actor and newsreader who also happened to be gay. Includes the details of his brutal death and the role of the British High Commission. 6 Music - 7pm: Tom Robinson. New actsBBC Radio 7 - 7pm: Round the Horne

Film and dramaSaturday 22ndITV1 - 2pm: Pillow Talk. Day/Hudson classic rom/comFiver - 6.30pm: A League of Their Own. Tom Hanks as a WWII ex-alcoholic basketball team coach. Rosie O’Donnell and Madge are among the playersSky Indie - 11.20am: Volver

Friday, November 21, 2008

A conversation with the celebrated author, wit and comic genius Stephen Fry will take place at the V&A museum in London about his long-held fascination with America and its people, cultures, and landscapes.

Questions cover some of the high points of the recent epic journey in which he travelled across 50 states in a black cab and explore a country that is at times magnificent, eccentric, beautiful and strange. The event coincides with the publication of his new book, Stephen Fry in America (HarperCollins 2008) and the television series of the same name.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

350 people witnessed the Pre Launch of the 5th LGBT history Month last night at the Hackney Free and Parochial Church of England School in Hackney, London. The Month will be taking place in February 2009.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (sponsors of the event), Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, who was the key-note speaker at the event, expressed her wish to see a light shining in the dark corners of classrooms and for the reality of LGBT lives to be fully realised in the curriculum. She also announced that new guidance is being developed for schools on gender and gender identity with the consultation starting soon.

There were also many calls for respect and the celebration of diversity. And as Councillor Faizullah Kahn, another speaker, reminded the audience in his own speech: if, for some reason, you can't be a friend, there is no reason why you should be an enemy.

Young people from Stoke Newington School, the Youth Projects Green Door in Hackney and Out on Thursday in Hammersmith, performed with aplomb, passion and humour and the audience of educationalists, teachers, youth workers and local LGBT activists sat spell-bound and sometimes emotional. They cheered as they recognised that inclusive education can make such a powerful difference.

Education professionals shared their ideas, tips and experience on bringing LGBT lives and history into the classroom. One of the many highlights of the night was a short video presenting the work of the No Outsiders Project, which celebrates LGBT families lives in primary schools around the country.

For those who could not attend and still wish to make a difference in their own school, advice and tips are available in the new School Toolkit, which was launched last night and will enable people to find examples of what can be done and how it can be done. The Toolkit also highlights the elements of legislation supporting the introduction of the LGBT elements in the curriculum. The Toolkit is available here, together with other resources for schools.

Sue Sanders, co-chair of Schools LGBT History Month said: "What a momentous night it was. We can only hope that February 2009 will come to life in schools and youth settings up and down the country. The resources are there, the legislation is there to say you need to do it and the skills and enthusiasm is abundant."

"Last night we saw young people from London and heard about projects in Wales, Buckinghamshire and the South West. We know that every school can do the work. They simply need the confidence and skills to do it and last night proved that there is plenty of support available."

The Month will be taking place in February 2009. The LGBT History Month website provides a wide ranch of resources for schools, organisations and individuals to get involved, including a calendar to advertise the events and a forum to share ideas.

More pictures of the event (taken by Mark Weeks) and of the previous pre-launch events can be viewed on our Flickr account here.

Monday, November 17, 2008

To mark the 10th International Transgender Day of Remembrance (20th November), the following events will be held this week-end in Manchester, London and Brighton. The day commemorates those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

ManchesterWill be hosting a Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday, November 23rd Assemble for the vigil in Sackville Park (off Canal Street, Manchester) at 3.45pm. The One Minute’s Silence and reading of the names of the deceased will take place at 4pm by the Beacon of Hope. This will take place by candlelight so please bring a candle and holder if you are able to. The vigil will last for approximately one hour, and will be followed by an informal gathering at Taurus bar (1 Canal Street) if people wish. Both Sackville Park and Taurus are fully accessible, although at Taurus we may use a private function room down one flight of stairs. All are welcome; please feel free to bring a reading, flowers or another appropriate tribute.For more information, contact Dave at tgdor@morf.org.uk

BrightonThe Gender Trust and The Clare Project are holding Brighton’s first Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday 23 November 2008, 16.00hrs at the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Dorset Gardens, Brighton BN2 1RL, United Kingdom . This is a non denominational meeting and not a religious service. There will be a candlelit vigil and readings. All are welcome.

LondonWill hold a Transgender Day of Remembrance service on Sunday, November 23rd at 2:00 PM at the Dragon Hall, Stukeley Street, Covent Garden. Contact:tgremembrance@googlemail.com with any queries, suggestions or offers of help. This event is supported by Camden LGBT Forum

Sunday, November 16, 2008

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Friday, November 14, 2008

I hope you're familiar with Proposition 8 in California and the news that it passed, which is very bad news for the LGBT Community. Three other states passed legislation that denies our community equal rights.

A grass roots effort was started last Friday that has grown into an international protest this Saturday, 15th November. This is no longer a 4-state issue in the US--they are taking it national and international. Protest events are organised in 49 US states and in countries around the world.

There is an event organised for London outside the US Embassy at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, 15th November to coincide with the hundreds of other events happening.

Come if you can. If you can't please at least pass this information along to your LGBT friends and allies.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

More than a decade after the height of the boy band's vogue, Boyzone, who have just recently reformed and released their first new single in nine years, have just released what is thought to be the first ever music video by a boy band featuring a gay couple.

In the video for the song Better, the members of the band are paired up with actors. Stephen Gately, who came out in 1999 and lives in with his civil partner, decided that he wanted to be seen with a male actor.

He told the BBC's Newsbeat: "For me, it's just me being me and I don't think there should be a real big issue about the whole thing anyway. I just think it's just a beautiful video and I think it works superbly for the song. I'm hoping this video will have a good, positive, all-round reaction."

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

John Lauritsen, US campaigner, author, scholar, long-time member of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association draws on his work on the Shelley/Byron circle, Jeremy Bentham, and early German and English spokesmen for homosexual emancipation.

The recent American elections have been qualified of historic by many commentators.

Despite the dark moments for LGBT rights brought in California, Arizona, Florida and Arkansas by voters expressing themselves against gay marriage, the city of Silverton, Oregon is bringing a little light and another reason to call the elections historic.

On the 4th November, it elected the country's first openly transgender mayor.

Stu Rasmussen, 60, served as mayor twice before, elected in 1988 and again in 1990, but that was before he underwent breast enhancement surgery and started to be more open about his trans status. He unseated incumbent mayor Ken Hector by 1,988 votes to 1,512.

Dozens of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates won election to public offices across the US on Tuesday, according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. The group, which endorsed a record-breaking 111 candidates in 2008, said more than 70 percent of its endorsed candidates had won their races.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What does your queer London look like? And how does it compare with queer London of yesteryear?

The website www.untoldlondon.org.uk are launching a new annual queer history writing prize in association with Chroma Queer Arts Journal. The competition is entitled Write Queer London and accept submissions of stories, non-fiction and poems about queer London, past, present and future.

Where do lovers meet? What are some of the delights and dangers of queer London? Tell them those untoldtold stories of clubbing and dating, cruising and marching, loving and breaking up. Bring an alternate queer history of London alive.

What if Hadrian and Antinous had had a civil partnership in ancient Cheapside? Was there a thriving scene of African sailors and Indian lascars down at the docks in the 18th century? Take inspiration from museum collections as Marguerite Yourcenar did when she wrote her modern classic, Memoirs of Hadrian, after visiting the British Museum. Or don’t. Just make it up!

Stories and Non-fiction: no longer than 2500 wordsPoems: no longer than 30 lines

Deadline: 8th January 2009Entry Fee: £5Prizes: £100 for winning story for each category (and £25 in book tokens from Gay is the Word bookshop)

More information here on the Untold London website. You can also download a flyer here (pdf file - 880Kb).

Monday, November 10, 2008

As part of a new programme the V&A is seeking to unearth previously hidden LGBTQ histories in its collections, researching the objects and their histories that surround them. Equally, these investigations look at the ways in which visitors themselves understand and make sense of these objects on the basis of their own identities and lived experience.

Oliver Winchester, Research Assistant - Postmodernism: Design 1970-90, said: "This is an exciting and complex task that is fraught with political, moral and personal challenges. Perhaps the most complex question stems from the inherent contradiction that lies at the centre of the gay liberation movement and its legacy – the desire to eradicate discrimination whilst enshrining difference. Any investigation into this area is charged and throws up many questions and provides only partial answers. We look forward to progressing through future projects and events."

Write Queer London17 November 200811.00-13.00What does your queer London look like? And how does it compare with the queer London of yesteryear? Write Queer London is looking for stories, non-fiction, and poems about queer London, past, present and future. Competition entrants are invited to get their creative juices flowing with a warm up workshop focusing on LGBTQ objects in the V&A collections.For more information and to enter the competition see www.untoldlondon.org.uk

World AIDS Day1 December 2008Seminar Room 313.00-14.00The 20th World AIDS Day takes place this year. To mark the occasion the V&A will host a lunchtime talk investigating the cultural impact of the virus. Join curators as they discuss the significance and meanings behind the AIDS quilt as a collective expression of grief and discuss examples of graphic design prompted by political and educational fallout of AIDS. Free event, no ticket required

Friday, November 7, 2008

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Monday 10thBBC Radio 4 - 9.45am: Book of the Week (same time every day this week) Florence Nightingale: The wham and her legend. Mark Bostridge biographyBBC Radio 4 - 10am: Woman's Hour - with Tracy ChapmanBBC Radio 7 - 10.30pm: Intimate Contact with Julian Clary. From1992BBC Radio 4 - 10.45pm: Book at Bedtime: The Ruling Passion.

Tuesday 11thBBC Radio 7 - 7.30pm: Counterpoint. With the late Ned SherrinBBC Radio 4 - 10.45pm: Book at Bedtime: The Ruling Passion.

Thursday 13thBBC Radio 7 - 6.30pm: The House on the Strand. By Du MaurierBBC Radio 4 - 10.45pm: Book at Bedtime: The Ruling Passion.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

By a happy coincidence, it is during LGBT History Month, next February, that Neil Tennant and Chrls Lowe, the members of Pet Shop Boys, will be honoured with the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award as part of the Brit Awards 2009.

Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have sold 50 million records since they signed to Parlophone in 1985 with four No 1 singles, 22 top 10 hits and a staggering 39 top 30 singles making them one of the most successful pop duos ever.

In 1986 their first hit single, “West End Girls”, topped the charts all over the world and the following year their single “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” relaunched the career of Dusty Springfield.

Pet Shop Boys have also worked as producers or remixers with artists including Robbie Williams, Liza Minnelli, David Bowie, Madonna, Kylie, Yoko Ono, The Killers and, as part of the group Electronic with Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner.

The Boys were awarded their first BRIT in 1987 winning Best British Single for ‘West End Girls’. The duo went on to pick up the coveted Best British Group Award in 1988 and performed their hit single Go West with the accompaniment of a 200 piece Welsh male choir in 1994 while being lowered onto the stage by two huge cranes.

Ged Doherty, Chairman of The BRITs Committee said, “Since their first BRIT Award over 20 years ago, Neil and Chris have produced a fantastic body of work with songs that truly were the soundtrack to a whole generation’s lives. The Pet Shop Boys have since become one of the most influential groups of the modern era and are deserving recipients of the award.”

Previous recipients of the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award include Paul McCartney, Oasis, U2, Paul Weller, Tom Jones, Sting. David Bowie, Eurythmics, The Beatles and The Who.

The ceremony which will also feature a performance with the band will take place on Wednesday 18 February.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Edward Carpenter was a radical socialist activist throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In his writings, he tore into the decadent middle classes and capitalism with fervour. He supported feminism, vegetarianism and the environment, among other things. But he was an active, open, campaigning homosexual, with a live-in partner, George Merrill, and this is why the Establishment has tried to forget him, and his life and works have hitherto been discussed only among those “who know”.

So it is wonderful that, in advance of the 80th anniversary of his death in 2009, he should be celebrated in the first full biography of his life, Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love, by Sheila Rowbotham.

Monday, November 3, 2008

It has been 25 years since the death of Tennessee Williams, and interest in this great American playwright’s work remains intense. However the recent publication of some of his lesser known early and late one-act plays, in which gay characters fully emerge, has given us a chance to appreciate and understand Tennessee’s own story more fully. To tie in with the celebration of this great playwright at the Glasgay Festival, throughout November film audiences at the British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank can enjoy a flashback to the glory days of his greatest screen adaptations.

The season features some of Williams’ most celebrated work for the big screen, kicking off with The Glass Menagerie (1950) on 1 November followed by such classics as, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Suddenly Last Summer (1959) and The Night of the Iguana (1964). As a centrepiece we’re presenting an extended run of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), probably Williams’ most famous work in which Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh give outstanding performances in this electrifying film about broken family relations. The season also includes his lesser-known adaptations for the cinema, such as the rarely screened Boom (1968) which is regularly championed by the film-maker John Waters; and Noir et blanc (1986 - picture), based on Williams’ short story Desire and the Back Masseur.

This series of films pays tribute to some of the great actors of the 20th century, with roles for stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Natalie Wood and Montgomery Clift. Williams’ characters encompass the full range of humanity: they can be starry-eyed, needy, credulous, self-destructive, warm, wry, flirtatious and just a little bitchy. Above all, Williams’ natural sympathy is with utterly open and unapologetic outsiders and misfits. What is fascinating from a contemporary re-viewing of his drama is how autobiographical his stories are: these are works full of his love and lovers, battles for acceptance, struggles with drugs and alcohol and are populated with dysfunctional families.

For details of the screenings from the BFI's website, please click here.

Independent, experimental, cutting edge and diverse are just some words to describe the first London Transgender Film Festival which will take place at the Ritzy in Brixton on the 7th, 8th and 9th of November.

Its focus is to exhibit content of transgender, intersex, androgyny, gender variant, trans feminists, gender queer, and gender fluid persons of all natures, all races and cultures, ages and abilities.

Its aim is to increase trans visibility and acknowledgement, question the gender binary, to dispel ignorance and demystify stereotypes, unite and support a diverse LGBTQI community and celebrate trans spaces and their friends.

The festival is also about communication and growth and will screen films of dynamic and important themes. It hopes to encourage and liberate self expression in independent trans filmmaking in London and globally for years to come.

Some highlights of this year’s festival will be new unreleased film screenings, important films that have not had much exposure in mainstream festivals, documentaries from around the world, an exhibition, workshops, and a panel with special guests.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

The LGBT movement and the wider feminist movement have lost a committed activist.

Katy Watson, founder of the collective Shocking Pink and the lesbian mothers’ organisation Out for our Children, has died at only 42. She is probably best known today for her children’s book Space Girl Pukes, a favourite with primary school children thanks to the No Outsiders project. A second children’s book, Deborah Puts Her Foot Down, is to be published soon, although she wrote her first book, a novel about heroin addiction entitled High Life, six years ago.

Hollywood pays tribute to a gay hero. But 30 years on his legacy is in peril

As a film about Harvey Milk is released, his battle for gay rights in the 1970s is being fought again over a proposition to ban same-sex marriages.

On the day of the US presidential elections, Californians will also be voting to decided whether their state should keep on allowing same-sex marriage which became legal in the State earlier this year.

Personalities (including Maria Shriver (Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife), Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw) and international corporations (Apple, MTV and Google) are taking a stand against the restriction of liberties that Proposition 8 would represents.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Alan Bennett is to give a wealth of written work from nearly 50 years as an author and playwright to the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

Notes, drafts and scripts for all of his stage and TV plays were among the collection, the library said. There are also manuscripts for his autobiographies and short stories, plus letters and a number of unpublished diaries dating back to 1974.

Read the full article on BBC News (including an audio interview of Bennett about the donation) here.

Disclaimer

This blog aims to provide information, which is relevant, and as up-to-date and accurate as possible. Inclusion of an item in these pages does not constitute a recommendation from LGBT History Month for external services/events thus advertised.

LGBT History Month is not responsible for the content of external websites.